Requirements and Standards

Specific academic requirements to enter the Saint Louis University School of Medicine
include a minimum of 90 semester hours (135 quarter hours) in undergraduate arts and
science courses.

Virtually all accepted applicants complete a baccalaureate degree of at least 120
semester hours (180 quarter hours) from an accredited college or university. In all
cases, our Committee on Admissions is more concerned with the quality of your education
than with the number of hours or years of pre-medical training.

If you have received your education abroad, you must complete at least one academic
year of science course work in an accredited North American college or university
before applying to SLU.

Course Requirements for Admission

General biology or zoology (8 credit hours)*

Inorganic chemistry (8 credit hours)*

Organic chemistry (8 credit hours)*

Physics (8 credit hours)*

English (6 credit hours)

Other humanities and behavioral sciences (12 credit hours)

*A laboratory course is required.

The Committee on Admissions usually recognizes undergraduate credit given for advanced
placement courses when it is indicated on a transcript. However, for the specific
minimum requirements above, advanced placement credits are not generally acceptable.
Upper level coursework may be used to fulfill the course requirements.

Since contemporary medical studies include the study of health and disease at the
subcellular and molecular level, the study of biochemistry or cellular biology is
highly recommended, though not required. Biochemistry may be taken in place of one
semester of organic chemistry.

Applicants are expected to have pursued one area of knowledge or discipline in depth.
The Committee on Admissions does not favor any specific major. Suitable major areas
include the behavioral sciences and humanities, as well as the natural sciences. Those
majoring in the behavioral sciences and humanities must demonstrate good performance
in the natural sciences and those majoring in the natural sciences must, in turn,
demonstrate a broad exposure to the humanities. Courses intended to satisfy basic
requirements or completed online will not be considered.

Admission is possible only at the beginning of the academic year.

Average Academic Profile

Candidates accepted for entry in August 2018 had the following average academic credentials:

Undergraduate Grade Point Average

Science-Math GPA 3.84

Overall GPA 3.85

MCAT2015 Scores

CPBS 128.44

CARS: 127.68

BBFL: 128.57

PSBB: 128.42

Total Mean Score: 513.10

Apart from these academic characteristics, the Committee on Admissions recognizes
a responsibility to consider applicants as individuals, particularly in the evaluation
of the breadth of their educational experience, their personality traits, maturity
level, and appropriate motivation and commitment to a career in medicine.

We seriously consider applicants enrolled in master’s or doctoral degree programs
only if they are scheduled to be completed during the year of application and prior
to enrollment in medical school, or if recommended by a graduate faculty mentor. Other
graduate students must withdraw from their graduate program before applying.

Personal Qualifications

Excellence in character, motivation and ideals cannot substitute for intellectual
ability demonstrated through scholastic achievement. However, academic achievement
alone is not a sufficient foundation for success in the medical profession.

The Committee on Admissions should have no reservations about the moral integrity
of an applicant or the applicant's ability to use medical knowledge and skills in
a manner ultimately beneficial to individual patients and society. Applicants whose
personality characteristics or behavior indicate they may have problems relating appropriately
to other human beings will not be accepted.

Technical Standards

Saint Louis University School of Medicine is committed to full compliance with the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) and the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990. Qualified applicants to the School of Medicine must be able to complete all
requirements leading to the M.D. degree.

Because an M.D. degree signifies that the holder is a physician prepared for entry
into the practice of medicine within a graduate training program, the recipient must
have the knowledge and skills to function in a broad variety of clinical situations
and to render a wide spectrum of patient care as required by the curriculum.

Our mission statement, goals and objectives are supported by the 1979 recommendations
of the Association of American Medical Colleges Special Advisory Panel on Technical
Standards for medical school admission that state, in part, that the M.D. degree is,
and must remain, a broad, undifferentiated degree attesting to the acquisition of
general knowledge in all fields of medicine and the basic skills requisite for the
practice of medicine.

The following technical standards may be applied to the selection of medical students,
as well as to accepted students and medical students enrolled in the M.D. program.

In addition to proven academic ability and other relevant personal characteristics,
Saint Louis University School of Medicine expects its students to possess and be able
to demonstrate the skills, attributes and qualities listed below, without undue dependence
on technology or intermediaries to a degree that compromises independent judgment.
The use of a trained intermediary is not acceptable in many clinical situations in
that it implies that a student's judgment must be mediated by someone else's power
of selection and observation.

Academically successful students are expected to:

Communicate effectively and sensitively with patients, health professionals, teachers,
staff and peers in settings where communication is typically oral or written, or when
the time span available for communication is limited.

Accurately observe a patient from a distance and at close range, obtain a medical
history directly from the patient and directly observe a patient's medical condition.

Perform diagnostic and emergency maneuvers and procedures, such as palpation, percussion
and auscultation, airway management, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and suturing,
as well as assisting in surgery.

Perform problem-solving tasks quickly and efficiently in an environment that may change
rapidly, without warning or in unpredictable ways.

Comprehend three-dimensional and spatial relationships.

Carry out procedures involved in learning the sciences fundamental to medicine, including
the ability to participate fully in activities dealing with curriculum requirements
in the classroom, laboratory and clinical setting.

Evaluation of Applications

There are no regional preferences and applications from well-qualified students are
seriously considered regardless of their state of origin or citizenship. The qualifications
of applicants are evaluated without discrimination in regard to financial status,
age, race, color, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability
or veteran status. Some additional consideration is given to qualified students from
Saint Louis University and the qualified sons and daughters of our School of Medicine
alumni.

Failure to be Admitted

Students who have failed or have been terminated for any reason at another medical
school, or who have previously earned a medical degree, whether in this country or
abroad, are not eligible to apply.

All completed applications are evaluated by the Committee on Admissions. It’s not
possible to provide places for all qualified applicants, but failure to be accepted
is not necessarily an indication that you are unsuited for a medical career.

If you have unsuccessfully applied to the Saint Louis University School of Medicine
more than three times, we recommend you not apply again unless significant changes
have been made that would merit the Committee on Admissions’ review.